Individualism and Climate Change Policies: International Evidence

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which the cultural dimension of individualismcollectivism matters for the stringency of climate change policies across the world. I postulate that individualistic societies are endowed with a better capacity to implement stringent climate change regulations compared with their collectivistic counterparts. This notion is tested using data for a world sample of up to 92 countries. To achieve causal inference, I isolate exogenous sources of variation in individualistic cultures, based on blood distance to the UK and historical pathogen prevalence. The results lend strong empirical support to my propositions. I also find evidence that individualism exerts a positive influence on the stringency of climate change policies through enhancing the quality of governance and female political presentation. To account for unobserved country-specific factors, I perform subnational analyses using data from the World Values Survey. The results indicate that survey participants with an orientation towards individualistic cultures tend to self-report positive attitudes to proenvironmental policies, which is consistent with the international evidence.

The importance of institutional differences among countries in SDGs achievement: A cross‐country empirical study

“…In similar tems, Vachon (2010) finds that individualism is related to “green” corporatism, environmental innovation, fair labor practices, and involvement in CSR, while Husted (2005), Ioannou and Serafeim (2012) and Peng et al (2012) observe that countries with greater individualism have greater social and institutional capacity to respond to social and environmental challenges. Vu (2020) shows that the emphasis on personal autonomy and achievement in individualistic cultures positively influences climate change policies by improving the quality of governance mechanisms and promoting innovation. Rosati and Faria (2019a) find that companies reporting on SDGs are located in countries characterized by individualistic cultures.…”